SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Some of the lowest-paid health care workers in California will get a pay bump Wednesday under a state law gradually increasing their wages to at least $25 an hour. Workers at rural, independent health care facilities will start making a minimum of $18 an hour, while others at hospitals with at least 10,000 full-time employees will begin getting paid at least $23 an hour this week.
The law will increase workers' pay over the next decade, with the $25 hourly rate kicking in sooner for some than others. About 350,000 workers will have to be paid more under the law starting Wednesday, according to the University of California, Berkeley Labor Center. Democratic Gov.
Gavin Newsom signed the law last year, and workers were slated to get raises in June. Lawmakers and the governor agreed this year to delay the law to help close an estimated $46.8 billion budget shortfall.
Carmela Coyle, president and CEO of the California Hospital Association, said last year that the legislation will support workers and protect access to health care services. "SB 525 strikes the right balance between significantly improving wages while protecting jobs and safeguarding care at community hospitals throughout the state,” she said in a statement. California's minimum wage for most workers in the state is $16 an hour.
Voters will decide in November whether to increase the rate gradually to $18 an hour by 2026, which would be the highest statewide minimum wage in the U.S. Fast .